The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 11 Sparring
The moment Fu Juemin uttered those words, the air froze.

Qian Fei exchanged a glance with the man next to him, a slick smile spreading across his face. He quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Young Master Fu is joking. It's just doing some odd jobs for the police station, like catching a few petty thieves or finding a lost cat or dog."

"Oh?" Fu Juemin's tone was calm, but his eyes were like hooks. "What petty thief is worth using hundreds of people and hundreds of guns for? If I remember correctly, the Civil Affairs Department has posted recruitment notices more than twice this year."

"hey-hey."

Qian Fei chuckled dryly, shrank back, and pretended not to understand.

Fu Juemin knew that the two men were both seasoned veterans and he wouldn't get anything out of them by asking. If he wanted to figure things out, he would have to ask his second uncle, Fu Guoping.

The dock in August was like a steamer, crowded with people, the stench of sweat mixed with the fishy smell of the river, making people dizzy.

Fu Juemin didn't bother to look any further and headed back with his two bodyguards.

Just as Fu Juemin was about to get into his car after leaving the water fair venue, he stopped in his tracks. He saw a group of laborers, heads down, carrying heavy, wet sacks on thick wooden poles, staggering down the riverbank.

A faint, familiar smell, carrying the scent of silt and decay from the riverbed, entered my nostrils.

Fu Juemin's eyes narrowed, and he slammed the car door shut with a "bang".

"Go over and have a look."

Ignoring the reactions of the two people behind him, Fu Juemin walked straight toward the group of laborers.

Upon closer inspection, the stench became even stronger.

Fu Juemin took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose, casually stopped a pair of laborers, and threw two silver dollars at them.

"Open."

Seeing that Fu Juemin was well-dressed and had a generous nature, the two laborers dared not neglect him and quickly untied the ropes, turning the sack upside down.

A dark, wet mass crashed to the ground, splashing foul-smelling black water everywhere.

Fu Juemin suppressed his discomfort and stared intently at the object on the ground. A look of shock and horror flashed across his eyes.

The sack contained a dead pig.

But it wasn't just any ordinary dead pig soaking in water.

The entire pig carcass was swollen and black, yet there were no mosquitoes or flies swarming around it, nor any signs of ordinary decay. The tattered pigskin clung tightly to the shriveled, bloodless flesh inside, as if something had sucked all its lifeblood out of it.

These bodies looked almost exactly like the ones he had seen on the flagpole at the dock a month or so ago!
"Are these the offerings that were just thrown into the river today?"

Fu Juemin's voice was deep.

A simple-looking laborer stammered, "Yes...it was from last time..."

"The offerings from last time took more than a week to float to the surface?" Fu Juemin frowned.

“There’s a water demon in the river…” Before the laborer could finish speaking, Qian Fei stepped forward and interrupted him sharply: “Bullshit! The river is clean, where would a water demon come from? If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll tear your mouth apart!”

"Shut up!"

Fu Juemin gave him a cold look, and Qian Fei shrank back, looking embarrassed.

The two laborers were so frightened that they fell silent.

Knowing he wouldn't get any more information, Fu Juemin threw the two silver dollars on the ground and strode towards his car.

Watching the black sedan disappear into the dust, Qian Fei wiped the sweat from his brow and exchanged a wry smile with his companion.

"This young master is too shrewd; this matter... I'm afraid it can't be kept secret any longer."

"Just tell Second Master. The rest is none of our business."

Fu Juemin went straight home and sat by the window of his bedroom on the third floor, looking down at the meticulously maintained, lush and tranquil garden through the enamel window.

After a month of arduous training, the good mood of almost completing the skin retouching was completely gone. He felt an inexplicable sense of annoyance. The shriveled and eerie sight of the dead pigs at the dock and the corpses swaying in the wind on the flagpole in his memory kept flashing through his mind.

Fu Juemin expressionlessly picked up the revolver in front of him and mechanically repeated the actions—the cylinder clicked out, closed, chambered, and then clicked out again…

The cold, metallic clanging sound was particularly jarring in the quiet room.

After an unknown amount of time, Fu Juemin suddenly put down his revolver, got up and walked to his desk. He opened the first drawer on his left, tore off a small handful of ginseng roots from a brocade box lined with red velvet, and stuffed them haphazardly into his mouth.

As you chew, a bitter taste spreads in your mouth.

Fu Juemin took a light breath, silently changed into his training clothes, then walked out of the room and gave instructions with an indifferent expression.

"Go and fetch Wang Shuisheng for me."

Another week has passed in the blink of an eye. At the Fu family residence, in the servants' canteen.

When Wang Shuisheng walked in with a limp, the eight-immortal tables were already full of people.

The food served to the guards of the Fu family was always good. Eight people sat at a table, and there were ten dishes and a soup, including fish and meat. During festivals, each person could also get a cup of aged wine.

Wang Shuisheng was one of only two boxers among the Fu family's guards to reach the Bone Forging Realm, making him an extraordinary figure. Even though he arrived late, the main seat at his table—the one directly opposite the fish head—was always reserved for him.

"Brother Shuisheng!"

"Brother Wang is here!"

When the people at the table saw him appear, they all stood up to greet him.

Wang Shuisheng smiled and raised his hand to greet everyone: "Alright, everyone sit down and start eating."

Everyone was starving, so they immediately buried their heads in their food and began to eat.

A clever fellow, quick-witted and agile, reached out and placed the only plate of braised carp on the table in front of Wang Shuisheng. Then, he picked up the fattest and tenderest crescent-shaped piece of meat near the gills and said solicitously, "Brother Shuisheng, please try this."

"Nonsense! This is everyone's food, not just mine, Wang Shuisheng's."

Wang Shuisheng tapped the clever boy on the head with his chopsticks, chuckled and cursed a few times, then pushed the fish in front of him back.

However, he was quite pleased with the clever boy's flattering behavior, and even the fish in the bowl seemed to taste three times better.

Wang Shuisheng picked up the freshest and tenderest piece of fish eye meat, about to put it in his mouth, when a commotion broke out from a nearby table.

"Pah! This fish stinks!"

"What stench? I think it's clearly lame!"

"A fish can be lame? You're talking nonsense!"

"Why not? Some fish are born and grow in water, but they somehow manage to grow a dog leg and make themselves crippled!"

"Hahaha--"

The people at that table spoke louder and louder, emphasizing the words "water" and "life" in every sentence, making it clear to anyone who they were talking about.

Wang Shuisheng slammed down his chopsticks, his face darkening as he looked across at Sun Youzhu: "Sun Youzhu, what do you mean by this?"

At the opposite table, a tall, burly man swayed as he stood up.

His face was full of scars, his scalp was shaved clean, and his body was covered in bulging muscles. He was Sun Youzhu, another bone-forging boxing master in the guardhouse.

"Don't you understand what I mean?"

Sun Youzhu narrowed his eyes and sneered, "I just can't stand some people who are all pretentious and spineless."

His voice suddenly rose: "Although we are working for the Fu family, martial artists should have some backbone and face, right?"

To get a few more tips, he actually broke his own leg to play the victim... I, Sun Youzhu, would never do such a thing!

Wang Shuisheng's face turned ashen.

He knew that he had recently been chosen by the young master as a sparring partner and was receiving a lot of money, which had long aroused envy.

But Sun Youzhu said such harsh things today, he has no intention of saving face at all.

"Do you think I injured myself... this leg?" He stared at Sun Youzhu, enunciating each word clearly.

"Otherwise what?" Sun Youzhu sneered. "Who doesn't know that the young master has only been practicing martial arts for a month? What can you achieve in a month? You might not even be able to stand still! What level are you, Wang Shuisheng? Bone Forging! A Bone Forging expert sparring with a novice can lead to broken bones and tendons... Do you think we brothers are all fools?"

Wang Shuisheng didn't rush to refute, his gaze slowly sweeping over the cafeteria.

"Is that what everyone thinks?"

No one responded, but neither confirmed nor denied.

Even the guards at the table under his command had a flicker in their eyes, hiding a hint of suspicion and contempt.

“Alright.” Wang Shuisheng was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, his voice unusually calm. “Young Master just thought I wasn’t enough to fight alone and wanted to find a few more people to spar with.”

He looked around at everyone and said slowly:
"The young master is practicing his boxing tonight. Anyone who wants to go... is welcome to join us."

“These words were spoken by me, Wang Shuisheng.”

(End of this chapter)